Hidden Blessings

Journey of a Strong Woman

Recently, I was asked to be the guest speaker at First Immanuel Church for their Women’s Day service from one of my dear friends (Tracy Howard). What a great honor and blessing this was for me to serve the Lord in this type of capacity and I truly thank my “Golden Divas” who came near and far to support me on this journey. If you don’t mind this week in my blog I would like to share my message with all of you!

For those of you who know me know that I am a transparent individual with no shame because my test of yesterday is my testimony for today. My life story has allowed me to encourage, inspire, and enlightened my fellow sisters in Christ, of God’s amazing grace and mercy by sharing my trials through my testimony.

James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

So let’s talk about “Hidden Blessings: Journey of a Strong Woman!”

“Hidden Blessings” are usually attached to adversities such as heartaches, brokenness, hardships, difficulties, misfortunes, and pain and suffering. Disguised as a trial God is trying to bless your life with endurance, character, and confidence which are good and lasting things.

You see, there is a hidden blessing in every trial in life, but you have to be willing to open your hearts to see them. Throughout all of the organized chaos that I had in my life, I realized that God was giving me spiritual preparation. He was preparing me to do His work in the future by making me stronger and wiser.

I know firsthand how Satan can attack us behind enemy lines and his attack usually comes right after something good has happened in our lives, when your guard is down. Satan is forever seeking an opportunity to destroy us and sift us like wheat; especially if he sees some potential in you to glorify God.

Basically, that little devil sees you as a threat so he is more than anxious to mess with your destiny; but no matter what, God can get the glory out of all of your pain and suffering because He sees the potential in you also.  

Get ready for a mood adjustment…I’m just saying!

Ladies when God is ready to shift the atmosphere this only means God is taking time out to invest specifically in your life. He is trying to take you somewhere you’ve never been before and give you things you have never attained before and yes this can be very uncomfortable because sometimes it comes with rejection, pain, and suffering.  

I know my “Golden Divas” are very strong, charming, beautiful and unique women that are wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, cousins, and girlfriends, I want you to know that God sees you and so do I. I employ you to never give up and continue to trust in the Lord because nothing sets our minds and hearts at ease like the promises of God from His Word.

I also know you’re probably thinking seriously…this woman doesn’t know a thing about what I have been going through and you know what. You’re right…I don’t know…but I do know what I’ve been through and I am thankful for God’s amazing grace and how He turned my trials into my testimony.

If you had the opportunity to read the “About Me” page you know I cost-host a radio show with my husband called “Let’s Stay Together Talk” our motto is “To Know God’s Glory, We Must Share Our Backstory.” So here’s the rest of my backstory… 

Remember those enemy lines I mentioned earlier, well…let me say my faith was tested. Satan was attacking me every chance he got, look at my pain and suffering timeline.

• 19 I survived a lightning strike that left me partially deaf in my right ear, I was told 32 years ago by my doctor that I would need a hearing aid by the age of 50. I got it last year with great deprivation (yeah I was in denial)
• 21my appendix ruptured leaving me with a very unsightly battle scar on my stomach
• 23 I was sexually assaulted at work by my boss
• 24 I was robbed at gunpoint which made me wonder why I didn’t die
• 37 and 43 I was downsized from my jobs.

God was definitely trying to get my attention just like the Verizon commercial slogan “Can you hear me now” I thought…Wow… God closed one of my ears so that I can hear Him. Loud and clear!

So, Divas, you can imagine I was in a bad headspace wondering why all of these terrible things were happening to me. I should have been living my life to the fullest instead I felt empty inside with no purpose and hope for my future.

My life was looking very bleak and very questionable and yes ALL of this happened before the big 50! I started losing faith and wondered where was God in the midst of my storm and I often asked the question “Why Me?”

However, Jeremiah 29:11; says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

 Contrary to what I was feeling at that time, God is never interested in destroying us; He loves us too much to harm us. God does things for our good. Sometimes it’s all He can do to get our focus away from going down the wrong path. 

God chooses to bless us all of the time, although sometimes the only way to receive some of His blessings we need to have a crisis first so that we can be drawn closer to Him, so that He can mold us, shape us and use us for His glory.

Ladies everything in your life is happening exactly as it’s supposed to with hidden blessings that you’ll soon come to understand. Sometimes what appears to be a problem is actually an answered prayer in disguise and ya’ll know we have dodged plenty of bullets when it came to dating the wrong guy.  

“We have to trust God when he closes one door, He is working behind the scenes to open another door; but in the meantime, between times, we must continue to praise Him in the hallway.”

I know this might be hard to believe for some and it was hard for me to conceive it as well; however, during the times of my trials, it was the time that I grew closer to God. I came to realize that He is the one who is in control of my life (not me) and He is still working behind the scenes to get me where I need to be in order to grow spiritually.  

Many times the things that I wanted most in life were snatched from me. The things that I thought were most important that defined me as a woman were taken away. The other blessing that comes from this sort of experience is that God needs for us to see things totally ripped apart in order for Him to get our attention and give us what He knows is better.

Now, once I started to understand that the plans God had for me were not just about the   “good things” but the whole array of human events I started to see things very differently. So I started praying that His will be done and manifested in my life.

I gave way to Him and recognized that one of the marks of spiritual maturity that I was coming to know was the quiet confidence that God is in control without the need to understand why He does what He does. I stopped asking “Why Me?” and started trusting in God again to order my steps.

As a result, I had to look at all of my circumstances from a different perspective, a positive one. I started to look for the blessings that accompanied those crosses. I know this may sound ridiculous to you, but doesn’t something positive usually come out of every negative situation?  

Often it is difficult for us to see past our circumstances. In doing so we forget that God is always up to something good if we will just put our faith in Him. There are many blessings in life that don’t look like blessings at first…regardless of what you think, God has something better in store for you and yes they may be disguised in trials, but the blessings that are produced are invaluable.

 Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

I’m not saying my journey was easy because it wasn’t but during this time the word encouraged me as I continued to seek God out and if I can be real here the gospel singer Kim McFarland ministered to my heart with her song “It Will Work Out.”

God teaches us through our trials. It is His way of refining us and disciplining us to turn our pain into purpose. 

My trials and tribulations along with my very strong mother made me the resilient strong woman I am today because it was in those difficult places that I discovered the sufficiency of His grace. This period in my life taught me the value of my thorns that I was given.

Yes, I have been through the storms of life, like most of us have and yes I often weep because I’m partially deaf in my right ear. I rub my hand over my stomach and I feel the indentation of a keloid scar. I think about seeing that gun at close range lodged on my temple when I was robbed and I think about the boss that violated me so aggressively with no remorse.

But, I also think about the goodness of the Lord and how His grace and mercy saved me from all of those unthinkable acts and how He never took His hands off of me by giving me favor while fighting my battles behind those enemy lines that were attacking me. 

This led me to think about a very strong woman in the Bible that I would like to briefly speak about today…Hannah. We know her for her silent suffering, her barrenness, her faithfulness, and her prayers and for her sacrifice. Hannah wanted a son and she made a promise to God if He blessed her with a son she will give him back to the Lord. She never gave up hope that God would hear her prayers. Hannah dedicated her baby Samuel to the Lord and left him at the temple to serve God “all the days of his life.”

You see just like Hannah, she had trials and tribulations and we are not exempt from experiencing the same, she looked to the Lord for where all of her strength lies, and so should we.

Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

So, I employ you to never give up or give in because your brokenness is a prerequisite of your greatness. God has a purpose for you regardless of what lies behind you because your hidden blessing lies before you.

A couple of hidden blessings manifested in my life when I was going through my trials when I lost my job I became an author, God birthed in me my first novel “Walking Upright: Order My Steps” to share of His mercy and goodness and another hidden blessing during that time God allowed me to go back to school to attain my degree.  

In our trials, we should turn to God, not away from Him. As we depend on Him, we find that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Take a moment and think about the way God has led you.  When you praise God for your blessings, do you remember to thank Him for the thorns? I did.

So, Ladies, I ask you in the book of “Hidden Blessings” as a strong woman that I know you are while in this time of calm share your testimonies with your fellow sisters to encourage them and ready their hearts so that they can become strong throughout their journey?” 

Stay victoriously strong women “Golden Divas!”